• Visit to England

From 12th to 16th April Father General visited England together with the Assistant for Western Europe, Fr. Antoine Kerhuel. On the afternoon of their arrival, after a visit to the Apostolic Nuncio, they moved on to Swanwick, the place of the Province Assembly. The meeting which was attended by about 250 people, Jesuits and laity, was the main purpose of the trip, and Father General participated in the sessions on the 13th and 14th of April. The focus was: “Our mission for the life of the world, a reflection on our life and mission, ad intraand ad extra, especially on people at the frontier.” The issue was examined in study groups and general meetings.  At the end Father General made his speech and answered questions. On 14th April, he met Mons. Vincent Nichols and Cardinal Keith O’Brien. On 15th April he returned to London. After a visit with the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the afternoon he moved to Wimbledon for the Mass – presided over by Mons. Peter Smith – with Jesuits, members of the Ignatian family, Christian Life Communities, friends, collaborators and, of course, parishioners. On 16th April, the last day of his visit, he attended the Province Consultation and an informal meeting for the inauguration of Hurtado Jesuit Centre (Wapping) before leaving for Rome.

• Visit to Africa and Madagascar

From 26th April to 11th May Father General will be in Africa and Madagascar, accompanied by Father Jean Roger Ndombi, Assistant for Africa, and Father Antoine Kerhuel, Assistant for Western Europe.

The first part will be the visit to the Province of Central Africa, which is celebrating this year 50 years of its erection (see our Bulletin n. 25, December 9, 2010). Given the brevity of the trip, Father General will visit only Kinshasa and its surroundings, where the Province operates a number of works in different apostolates.

The second part o the visit is the  participation in the General Assembly of JESAM. At the beginning of May the Major Superiors of Africa and Madagascar will meet in Antananarivo in Madagascar for their annual gathering, with Fr. General and Fr. Jean Roger Ndombi, the Regional Assistant for Africa. 
The third part of the trip will be devoted to the visit to the Province of Madagascar. This will take place from 7th to 11th May and again, as for the Province of Central Africa, Father General will limit his visit to the capital city of Antananarivo and surroundings.